


Where The Day Takes Us

by Ink_Gypsy



Series: Sanctuary Singles [36]
Category: The Lord of the Rings RPF (AU)
Genre: M/M, Sanctuary Universe, Sean Astin/Elijah Wood - Freeform, fffc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-06-02 05:42:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19435075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: Elijah wonders if during all their years together, Sean and Daniel ever considered getting married.





	Where The Day Takes Us

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Frodo Flash Fiction Community on LJ and DW June Special Challenge: Wedding Bells.

[ ](https://imgur.com/1GNaoQt)

When a commercial came on during the television program they were watching, Sean took the opportunity to go to the kitchen to refill the bowl of popcorn they had devoured. The commercial was for a cholesterol-lowering drug and featured a wedding, which prompted Elijah to ask, “You and Daniel were together for a long time. Did you ever think about getting married?”

From the kitchen Sean replied, “When we got together, a commitment ceremony was all we were allowed.” He came back carrying the refilled bowl. “We had one of those on our third anniversary, mostly to please Tilda.”

“But you never thought of making it legal?”

Sean shook his head. “By the time the law allowed it, Daniel was already sick and it didn’t seem all that important.”

“Wouldn’t it have made things easier for you?”

“In what way?”

Elijah said, “I remember reading about a gay couple who lived together for years. Then one of them died and his family came and took everything. The partner got nothing because they weren’t legally married.”

Sean frowned. “That kind of thing was all too common back then when gays didn’t have the protection of the law, and I suppose that could have happened to me. Daniel owned the apartment, and except for a few things I’d brought with me, everything in it, so technically I had no legal right to it.”

“Would Daniel’s family have fought you over it?”

“Probably, but it never came to that. Daniel’s family was well off financially, and it was obvious they thought I was a gold-digger, especially after they learned I was an Iowa farm boy. The fact that I’d published a novel before Daniel and I ever met didn’t impress them, and because I was much younger than he was, it was only natural that they assumed I was looking for a sugar daddy to support me. I couldn’t blame them, but luckily, I had Tilda as my advocate. She tried to convince the family that I truly loved Daniel, but I don’t think they ever believed it. Daniel knew they’d never accept me, so when we got serious and began living together, he put everything in writing. He didn’t expect anything to happen to him, but in case something did, he wanted to make sure I’d receive everything he wanted me to have.”

“That’s how you got the cabin.”

Sean nodded. “Daniel knew I’d prefer the cabin to the apartment, so he made sure it would be mine free and clear. He also arranged for a stipend for me to live on. I didn’t want the money, didn’t want Daniel’s family to have the chance to accuse me of coercing him into leaving it to me, but Tilda told them it was what Daniel wanted, that he’d discussed it with her. At first I refused it, but Tilda was the voice of reason. Without Daniel’s salary, she reminded me that I’d have to get a job to support myself while I was writing, and how could I do that if I was living out in the middle of nowhere? She argued that the money was Daniel’s way of making sure I kept writing without having to worry about paying the bills. That made sense, so I finally gave in and accepted. Since Daniel had made his wishes known in a will he’d had drawn up way before he got sick, his family couldn’t say he wasn’t in sound mind when he wrote it. They could have contested it, but I think they were grateful I’d have nothing more to do with their family, and it was worth letting the cabin go to get me out of their lives. When writer’s block set in, I was glad Tilda had convinced me to take the money.”

“You don’t get royalties from your books?” Elijah wondered.

“I did in the beginning, but not enough to live on. You have to sell a lot of books to make any money because the publisher has to make back what it cost them to publish before the writer sees anything after the original advance, so what money I received wasn’t much. Unfortunately, while my books were popular with critics, they weren’t best sellers. They’re out of print now anyway, so there won’t be any more royalties.”

Elijah sighed. “I hoped when I set up your blog, your publisher would see all the comments and want to reissue your novels, or maybe publish them as e-books.”

“That would have been nice, and maybe it might still happen.” Sean looked at Elijah as if a thought had just occurred to him. “What’s with all these questions about weddings? Are you looking for a marriage proposal?”

A look of surprise came over Elijah’s face. “Of course not,” he said quickly. “I was just curious.”

“But you’d like to get married some day, now that we can?”

Elijah didn’t know how to answer. Was Sean testing him? If he said no, would Sean think he didn’t love him enough to marry him? Or if he said yes, would Sean think he expected marriage, that he thought his relationship with Sean entitled him to have legal status in his life? Cautiously, he said, “I’m happy with things the way they are.” After a moment he added a tentative, “Aren’t you?”

“Deliriously happy,” Sean confirmed, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t ever wonder what could be.”

“You do?”

“Of course I do,” Sean confirmed. “Don’t you?” At Elijah’s guilty look, Sean’s frustration had him insisting, “Elijah, you have to stop worrying that something you say will make me stop loving you. That’s never going to happen.”

Elijah believed that was true, but the old fears of what could happen when he disappointed Pedar still surfaced without warning, so hearing Sean talk about loving him unconditionally always had a calming effect on him. “You know I love our life together, Sean,” he began. “Being here with you means everything to me. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been and it’s because of you.”

“You know I feel the same way.”

Elijah looked away. “I just don’t want you to think I expect more from you than you’re willing to give me.”

Taking Elijah’s chin in his hand, Sean turned his face back so he could look directly into Elijah’s eyes. “You should know by now that there’s nothing I’m not willing to give you.” Elijah had no answer to that, so Sean told him, “I learned after Daniel died that you can’t count on getting the future you planned, so I began taking life one day at a time. Can’t we do that, see where the day takes us?”

Though Sean hadn’t specifically mentioned it, Elijah interpreted his words about the future to mean that there was the possibility of marriage. Just the idea that Sean might want to marry him some day filled him with joy, but he curbed his excitement and said softly, “We can do that. Our being together is what really matters.”

“Yes,” Sean agreed, “that’s what matters.” He sat down again and dug into the bowl for a handful of popcorn. “We don’t have to make any plans right now, but I think we should keep our options open.”

They went back to watching the movie, but Elijah couldn’t concentrate. If he didn’t think it was such a girly thing to do, he would have practiced writing what his new legal name would look like if he and Sean were to get married. Did men take each other’s names? Maybe they could hyphenate their surnames the way married women often did. Elijah Astin-Wood. He liked the sound of that. And as long as he was building castles in the sky, he let his mind wander to what his and Sean’s wedding day would be like, picturing the two of them wearing tuxedos, and standing side by side at the altar in a church while Tilda and Hannah sat together, watching from the front pew.

The sound of Sean’s voice invaded his consciousness, cutting short his trip to fantasy land. “Elijah, what do you want to do?”

It took Elijah a moment to realize that Sean had asked him a question and was waiting for him to answer. He came back to earth with a thud, and his reply to Sean came out as “Huh?”

“I asked if you wanted to see what else was on regular TV or watch a DVD,” Sean explained, “but you looked like you’d zoned out and were off somewhere else.”

“Sorry,” Elijah told Sean, then gave him a mysterious smile. “I was just thinking about things.”

When Elijah didn’t elaborate, Sean said only, “Okay.” There was obviously something more going on, and as much as he wanted to know what it was, he was determined not to ask. As long as whatever Elijah had been thinking about made him smile, Sean was content to let him keep his secrets.


End file.
